Manifolding apparatus.



A. LEWIS. MANIPOLDING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 1, 1908.

943,195. Patented Dec.14,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR A. LEWIS. MANIFOLDING APPARATUS. APPLIGATION FILED JULY 1, 1902.

Patented Dec. 14,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FIG. 3.

INVENTQR WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES PATENT (EFFTQF.

ABRAHAM LEWIS, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

MANIFOLDING- APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Manifolding Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention aims to provide an improved apparatus for copying in books, for simultaneous billing and charging of items, and for various other purposes. An apparatus is provided which is adapted to carry a sheet of carbon paper in position over a page upon which the item is to be charged, such for example as the page of a permanently bound book or of a loose leaf book, or of a leaf'which is supported simply upon a board or other stiff backing. By then laying a bill head or other blank upon the carbon paper and filling in the items, a bill is made out and the record is duplicated 011 the page below, which will then serve as a charging book or book of original entry, the bill being forwarded to the customer. The arrangement is such that any number of separate bills may be copied upon a single page of the book (limited of course by the size of the page and of the separate bills). The carbon paper may be shifted readily from one side to the other to cover both the right-hand and the lefthand pages of a bound book, whether it be a double-faced carbon sheet or single-faced. Where a double-faced sheet of carbon paper is used, an additional copy of the page, or of any of the items thereon may be made, by placing a transparent sheet over the upper face of the carbon paper, and under the bill which is being made out.

Various other points of advantage are referred to in detail hereinafter.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

Figure l is a perspective view of the apparatus in position upon the right-hand page of a large book; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the apparatus in position on the left-hand page; Fig. 8 is a plan partly in horizontal section of an inner corner of the frame of the apparatus, Fig. d is a per- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 1, 1908.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909. SeriaI No. 441,346.

spective view of the same corner of the clamping mechanism.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the sheet of carbon paper A is clamped at one edge between a pair of plates B and C hinged along their outer edge as at D, so that the upper one may be lifted to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, to permit the easy insertion of carbon and other papers. Preferably the carbon paper is perforated to pass over studs E which project upward from the lower plate B and pass through openings in the upper plate when. the latter is folded down. The upper plate carries also a locking slide F having a handle G at one end, and having key-hole-shaped openings the larger part H of which is in position to pass over the head of each stud E when the slide is withdrawn. V hen the paper is in place and the upper leaf folded down, the slide F willthen be shoved forward to bring the narrow portions J of its openings under the heads of the buttons E, so as to lock the two plates together and hold the paper flat.

The clamp, comprising the plates 13 and C and connected parts, and which I designate as a whole by the letter K, is arranged to lie along one edge of the page, with the papers carried thereby lying over the page. it may be iade in lengths corresponding to the pages of different sized books, or if it be somewhat longer than the book with which it is to be used, there is no inconvenience. hen the clamp K is set in place at the edge of the page, .itwill be opened and a sheet of carbon paper inserted, and if desired an intermediate sheet L of transparent paper (supposing the carbon paper to be coated on both sides). Then when the first bill is to be made out the bill head or blank M is introduced over the top part of the page, preferably with its inner edge against the shank of the button E as shown in Fig. a, which forms a convenient gage, and the clamp is locked. In writing out the bill a copy is made on the transparent paper L and also on the page of the book. The plate C is preferably provided with a scale, as

indicated on its edge corresponding with thelines of the page, so that the operator by observing the position of the last bill rela= tively to this scale, can accurately place the next bill with its heading overlapping the last entry in the book so as to avoid any waste space in the book. It will not be necessary to do this when the double carbon and the page L of transparent paper are used, since this transparentleaf will show exactly the position of the last entry; but where no such extra copy L is to be made and a single-faced carbon paper is used, the scale will be useful.

I provide for shifting the carbon paper from one side of the book to the other without inverting it, by arranging the clamp always at the same side of the page, always at the left in the case illustrated. The shifting of the clamp without detaching it from the book may be very conveniently effected by mounting it upon a frame having upper and lower cross bars N and O respectively, and inner and outer bars P and Q respectively. The clamp K is connected at each end to a slide 1%, and these slides travel on the rods N and O and are fixed in position by catches which take into notches S near the ends of the rods. The catch may for example be a small bolt T pressed inward by a spring and adapted to be drawn outward by a head U. The clamps K may be pivoted by means of supporting blocks V through which pass pins extending inward from the slides R. The outer rod Q may likewise be made adjustable along the rods N and 0 so as to indicate the approximate location of the edge of the page, which may otherwise be covered by the carbon paper, and so as to rest on the page of the book to hold the carbon better in place. This outer rod C), may also be marked with a scale of lines as indicated in Fig. 2 corresponding to that on the clamp. The apparatus may be conveniently fastened to the book by means of hooks X adapted to enter the space Y between the cover and the leaves of the book, which space opens when the book is opened in most styles of books. here such a space is not available, the book may be provided with special tubular spaces into which the hooks X may be thrust. These hooks are detachable, and at the same time they form a rotary connection with the apparatus by having their stems Y fitting into the hollow ends of the inside rod P of the frame. The hook X with its parallel and adjacent stem Y is preferably made of springy material so that it holds-the rod P close against the book, and with a yielding pressure to adapt it for books of different sizes. The frame pivots freely about the stems Y of the fastening hooks X, and may be turned quickly from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 2,

that is from one side of the book to the other. The carbon sheet, however, should not pivot, but must be shifted bodily to the other page without turning it over. It is for this reason that the clamp K holding the edge of the carbon paper is pivotally connected to the slides K. As the frame is swung over from one page to the other, the clamp is turned about its pivot to maintain its top plate uppermost. Then the stops T are withdrawn and the entire clamp slid in the frame over to the proper side of the page.

The plates of the clamp and the rods constituting the frame, are shown as made of rather heavy metal, and the apparatus works well when thus constructed. But the plates and rods may be of thinner material stamped out of sheet metal and corrugated for stiffness, as is common with plates used in similar apparatus. The rods of the frame may be of any shape in cross-section, and may be hollow for lightness. The buttons E may be stamped up from the lower plate, or soldered thereon, or otherwise formed. The locking slide F is preferably held in place by means of ears Z which are struck up from the plate C, or it may be held in any other way. In fact the details of the clamp and the combination and arrangement of the parts may be variously modified without departing from the invention. The apparatus may be used for making a number of copies at a time by introducing several sheets of carbon paper. It is not essential that the carbon paper shall be large enough to extend over the entire page of the book. It may be of a size approximating that of the bill head, or smaller so as to be out of the way and to avoid smudging the hands of the person using the apparatus.

What I claim is 1. In combination, a frame having means for pivotally attaching it to a book so as to swing over one page or over the opposite page, and a clamp pivotally and slidingly supported in said frame so as to permit it to be shifted from one side to the other side thereof to maintain it always on the same side of the page when the frame is swung from one to the other.

2. In combination, means for holding a sheet of carbon paper over a page of a book, said means having a tubular part and attaching means including a hook X adapted to enter a tubular opening in the book, said attaching means having also a shank Y adapted to enter said tubular partof the means for holding the carbon paper in position to hold said carbon-holding means attached to the book while permitting it to swing from one page to the other.

8. In combination, a frame having means for attaching it pivotally to a book so as to my name in the presence of two subscribing overlie either the right or the left hand page,

a clamp for holding a sheet of carbon paper over the page, and slides on the upper and 5 lower members of the frame, the clamp being pivotally supported from said slides.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed Witnesses. b

ABRAHAM LEW 1S.

\Vitnesses DOMINGO A. UsINA, THEODORE T. SNELL. 

